Andrea's Portfolio

Marine Mission

This blog post is a summary of the project-based learning (PBL) unit our elementary students completed at Colorado STEM Academy in January 2016. In the project, students were answering the driving question: Should people inland care about the ocean, and why? Third, fourth, and fifth grade students worked together to learn about a variety of ocean biomes and issues that might affect the ocean. Over the course of 5 weeks, students formed interest groups, and conducted in-depth research of an ocean issue, which they narrowed down to the following topics: marine debris, ocean acidification, climate change, El Nino, sustainable seafood, overfishing and aquaculture. Armed with web research, local scientist experts, and their very own NOAA Teacher at Sea, students learned about their chosen topic and worked together with their groups to create an informational handout about why people should care about their issue to give out at our culminating night at the aquarium. This event brought together students, families, scientists, teachers, and community members in an evening aimed at raising awareness of these ocean issues. During the event, students presented their findings to a variety of audiences, passed out their handouts, brochures, stickers, and even raffled off a few of their custom-designed overfishing T-shirts.

This artifact is one of my favorites, as it has been one of the best PBL units we have done at our school, and reflects my growth as a PBL educator. By participating in the NOAA Teacher at Sea program, I have connected with numerous scientists and brought the love of the ocean to my classroom. Students have had the opportunity to interact with research we have done on the ships as well as meet a variety of ocean scientists. This project was an expansion on a PBL unit we completed in 2015, which looked at ocean animals and their adaptations.

Exploring Marine Issues

The content of this PBL unit no doubt had an impact on the students, teachers, and community members involved. From knowing little about different marine issues and how they can affect us inland, students developed an understanding of concepts many adults are unaware of, such as the harm in plastics and microbeads, or how to make sustainable seafood choices. Not only did students develop the understanding, they were able to speak with community members and scientists about their learning. Based on feedback from students, scientists and parents, everyone involved with this project learned something new!

This artifact, because it summarizes the project, is a crucial piece in understanding my educational philosophy, and getting a glimpse into my classroom. It shows how students worked collaboratively towards a common goal, and how we utilized scientists to help us learn difficult content. It also shows how our students are impacting the community they live in. After learning about marine debris, some students have even begun researching how we can ban plastic bags in our city. Clearly, this project has made a great impact!

Growth in PBL

In the three years I have been at my school, I have seen my practice as a PBL educator grow and change. From learning what PBL was to becoming a veteran teacher, I have seen the evolution of my practice, one that is still continuing on its journey. I have learned how to write better inquiry questions, how to guide students in their research, and how to assess and give feedback to students along the way. I have learned how to help students learn to work in groups, collaborate with students at different age levels, and how to help students learn from content experts. I have learned how to better scaffold student learning to promote inquiry and student driven questions.

While I have grown and changed through the development of this PBL unit as well as others, I continue to better my practice. I would have liked our culminating event at the aquarium be a larger community event where we invited visitors outside of our school in addition to our school community. Reaching a wider audience would have been helpful for our student presenters, and also could help inform the community of the marine issues taking place right here in Colorado.